Railroaders' Nostalgia > MIKE Chavez--The voice of the Tehachapi and Facebook

Mike's Facebook-- SP DS 64 --  is still alive and well, proclaiming today, Christmas Day, to be his 111th birthday---I am sure he is grinning broadly from somewhere "up there".  One of the great ones---- missed by many, I am sure.
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Carol Voss
Bakersfield, CA



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/25/16 20:06 by CarolVoss.

I knew Mike for over 45 years. Are we talking about the same Mike ? The SP dispatcher ? He would of been born in the year 1905.

Posted from Android

SanJoaquinEngr Wrote:
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> I knew Mike for over 45 years. Are we talking
> about the same Mike ? The SP dispatcher ? He
> would of been born in the year 1905.
>
> Posted from Android

the Mike I am talking about died within the last 2 or 3 years  and was probably about 70-- his age on his FB page was one of his jokes. 

Carol Voss
Bakersfield, CA

Unfortunately Mike died a year or so ago.  At least in my opnion, (which I think will be in a great majority) Mike was the SP's BEST Dispatcher in the last 50 years.  I've never known somebody who could think about so many things at the same time.

I met him when he was an operator at Mission Tower on the Santa Fe, when I was a switchman in 1966, before he hired out on the SP in 1969.

A call to an Amtrak Engineer one day: " Are you in the parlor car or the Bumble Bee?"  (He wanted to give him some more blocks, and needed somebody to copy them as the engineer couldn't because he was running.)

Mike would be 70...

A little trivia:  Who had the relief operator job at Mission Tower when Mike was the other operator there off the extra board?   Hint: his first son-in-law was a late SP LA Div engineer who went over to Amtrak way back when.   Who was the engr?

RIP Mike.
G 

Tom Dinger

Posted from Android

Some posts on Trainorders on Mike Chavez and his death 12-24-15. RIP, one wonderful man and dispatcher!

http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?1,3919116,3919168#msg-3919168

http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?1,3504997,3507992#msg-3507992

http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?1,3919176,3919176#msg-3919176
 

Nope.

Sorry Carol, not meaning to hijack your thread.


ExSPCondr Wrote:

> A little trivia:  Who had the relief operator job
> at Mission Tower when Mike was the other operator
> there off the extra board?   Hint: his first
> son-in-law was a late SP LA Div engineer who went
> over to Amtrak way back when.   Who was the
> engr?

​Bob Heuerman and Jay Bell. (I cheated. see:http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?1,3504997,3507992#msg-3507992)

​Here is Jay (in the green cap) and Jim Escalante on the ground with Pat Bray, conductor pilot in cab during the crew change at TE'A' yard, 12-22-1975.
​'Beanie' Sitker was the outbound engineer. Jay was in his element that day with a grin from ear to ear.

Charlie
 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/27/16 10:00 by cewherry.

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You're good Charlie! (But we already knew that.)
G